Mesoglycan as a dietary supplement
Mesoglycan is a natural dietary supplement that is primarily associated with supporting vascular health. It is chemically related to heparin and chondroitin and is extracted mainly from pig intestines. The supplement is proposed for various vascular issues, including atherosclerosis, varicose veins, and intermittent claudication, where it may help improve blood circulation and reduce symptoms. Preliminary studies suggest that mesoglycan could also be beneficial for conditions such as hemorrhoids, phlebitis, and kidney stones.
Typically, the recommended dosage for mesoglycan is around 100 milligrams daily. While some studies indicate its effectiveness in improving conditions like diabetic retinopathy and venous ulcers, the evidence is still emerging, and further research is ongoing. Safety considerations include the potential for mesoglycan to thin the blood, which means it should not be taken alongside certain prescription blood thinners. As with any supplement, individuals should consult healthcare professionals before starting mesoglycan, especially those with underlying health issues or those who are pregnant or nursing.
Mesoglycan as a dietary supplement
- DEFINITION: Natural substance used as a dietary supplement for specific health benefits.
- PRINCIPAL PROPOSED USES: Atherosclerosis, intermittent claudication, varicose veins, and other vascular issues
- OTHER PROPOSED USES: Hemorrhoids, high cholesterol, kidney stones, osteoarthritis, phlebitis, blood clotting disorders, anti-inflammatory, wounds, diabetic nephropathy
Overview
Mesoglycan is a type of substance found in many tissues in the body, including the joints, the intestines, and the lining of blood vessels. Chemically, mesoglycan is related to the blood-thinning drug heparin and the supplement chondroitin. Unlike chondroitin, mesoglycan is primarily used to treat diseases of blood vessels. Preliminary evidence suggests that mesoglycan may be helpful for vascular conditions such as atherosclerosis, varicose veins, hemorrhoids, and phlebitis. (One should not self-treat phlebitis. It is a potentially deadly disease.) There are additional proposed uses for mesoglycan.
Sources
Mesoglycan is not an essential nutrient because the body usually manufactures it from scratch. For supplement purposes, mesoglycan is commercially extracted from the intestines of pigs. Similar substances can be produced from cartilage, bone, and the lining of large blood vessels and are often used interchangeably.
Therapeutic Dosages
The usual dosage of mesoglycan is 100 milligrams (mg) daily.
Therapeutic Uses
Most proposed uses of mesoglycan involve diseases of blood vessels or vascular diseases. For example, evidence suggests that mesoglycan may slow the development of hardening of the arteries by lowering cholesterol levels, thinning the blood, or through other effects.
People with severe hardening of the arteries sometimes develop blockage in the arteries of the legs, a condition called intermittent claudication. This condition limits the ability to walk by causing intense, cramping pain after walking a relatively short distance. There is some evidence that mesoglycan may help.
The conditions just discussed involve arteries. Mesoglycan may also be useful for various diseases of the veins, including varicose veins/venous insufficiency, hemorrhoids, and phlebitis.
One study suggests that a substance related to mesoglycan, hyaluronic acid, might be helpful for asthma when taken by inhalation. Preliminary evidence suggests mesoglycan may also be useful in treating kidney stones. Mesoglycan may also benefit patients with diabetic nephropathy by helping diabetes patients maintain kidney health.
The substance chondroitin is used for the treatment of osteoarthritis. Based on the chemical similarities between chondroitin and mesoglycan, researchers conducted a large (almost four-hundred-participant) five-year, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of injected mesoglycan for slowing the progression of osteoarthritis. However, no benefits were seen.
Additional proposed therapeutic uses for mesoglycan include employing its anti-inflammatory properties to treat various conditions. For example, the ability of mesoglycan to reduce inflammation and improve blood flow could help wounds heal faster. It is also suggested for blood clotting disorders due to its antithrombotic properties.
Scientific Evidence
Intermittent claudication. A twenty-week, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial that enrolled 242 people evaluated the effects of mesoglycan (100 mg a day orally, after a short course of injected treatment) for treating intermittent claudication. Significantly more participants in the mesoglycan group responded to treatment (defined as a greater than 50 percent improvement in walking distance) than in the placebo group.
Atherosclerosis in general. In a double-blind comparative study, men with atherosclerosis in the arteries of the heart (coronary artery disease) were given either 200 mg daily of mesoglycan or no extra treatment. After eighteen months, the layering of the vessel lining was seven and a half times greater in the untreated group than in the mesoglycan group, a significant difference. However, because this was not a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, the results cannot be taken as reliable. Additional preliminary evidence that mesoglycan might help atherosclerosis comes from other studies in animals and humans.
It is not known for certain how mesoglycan might help atherosclerosis. There is some evidence that it can reduce cholesterol levels and thin the blood.
Vein diseases. Several studies suggest that mesoglycan may be helpful in the treatment of vein problems, such as varicose veins/venous insufficiency, phlebitis, and hemorrhoids. For example, in a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, 183 persons with leg ulcers caused by poor vein function were treated with either placebo or mesoglycan (first by injection and then orally) for twenty-four weeks. The results of this double-blind study suggest that mesoglycan significantly improved the rate at which the leg ulcers healed. Additional studies of mesoglycan for vein issues, such as superficial vein thrombosis, were ongoing in the 2020s.
Clinical data on other conditions. Mesoglycan has been studied for other venous conditions as well. It has been shown in clinical studies to be effective in treating diabetic retinopathy, deep vein thrombosis, venous ulcers, and peripheral artery disease. Mesoglycan has also shown effectiveness in improving insulin sensitivity in patients with metabolic syndrome in studies published in 2012 and 2015. Finally, a study published in 2022 revealed mesoglycan may also promote decreased wound healing time.
Safety Issues
Mesoglycan is essentially ground pig intestines and is believed to be safe, even if taken in large quantities. However, because mesoglycan appears to decrease blood clotting, it should not be combined with prescription blood thinners such as warfarin (Coumadin), clopidogrel (Plavix), ticlopidine (Ticlid), pentoxifylline (Trental), or heparin, or with drugs in the aspirin family. Maximum safe dosages for young children, pregnant or nursing women, or those with severe liver or kidney disease have not been determined.
Bibliography
Arosio, E., et al. "A Placebo-Controlled, Double-Blind Study of Mesoglycan in the Treatment of Chronic Venous Ulcers." European Journal of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery, vol. 22, 2001, pp. 365-372.
Belvedere, Raffaella, et al. "The Combination of Mesoglycan and VEGF Promotes Skin Wound Repair by Enhancing the Activation of Endothelial Cells and Fibroblasts and Their Cross-talk." Scientific Reports, vol. 12, no. 1, 2022, pp. 1-1, doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-15227-1.
Camporese, Giuseppe, et al. "Mesoglycan for the Secondary Prevention of Superficial Vein Thrombosis: A Randomized, Controlled, Double-Blind Study (METRO Study)—Rationale and Protocol." Journal of Thrombosis and Thrombolysis, vol. 57, 2024, pp. 226-234, doi.org/10.1007/s11239-023-02896-6. Accessed 3 Oct. 2024.
"Mesoglycan." Drugs.com, 18 Dec. 2023, www.drugs.com/npp/mesoglycan.html. Accessed 3 Oct. 2024.
"Mesoglycan: Health Benefits, Side Effects, Uses, Dose & Precautions." RxList, www.rxlist.com/supplements/mesoglycan.htm. Accessed 3 Oct. 2024.
Nenci, G. G., et al. "Treatment of Intermittent Claudication with Mesoglycan." Thrombosis and Haemostasis, vol. 86, 2001, pp. 1181-1187.
Petrigni, G., and L. Allegra. "Aerosolised Hyaluronic Acid Prevents Exercise-Induced Bronchoconstriction, Suggesting Novel Hypotheses on the Correction of Matrix Defects in Asthma." Pulmonary Pharmacology and Therapeutics, vol. 19, no. 3, 2006, pp. 166-171.